Astros' Lance McCullers exits game with toe issue

Houston Astros starting pitcher Lance McCullers (43) pitched off the two pack during spring training at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, in West Palm Beach, Florida, Thursday, February 16, 2017. ( Karen Warren / Houston Chronicle ) less

Houston Astros starting pitcher Lance McCullers (43) pitched off the two pack during spring training at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, in West Palm Beach, Florida, Thursday, February 16, 2017. ( Karen Warren ... more

Photo: Karen Warren, Staff Photographer

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While throwing 43 pitches in Saturday's simulated game, Lance McCullers got his velocity up to the 93-95 mph range.

While throwing 43 pitches in Saturday's simulated game, Lance McCullers got his velocity up to the 93-95 mph range.

Photo: Karen Warren, Staff Photographer

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Though he had a 7.20 ERA this spring, perhaps partly attributable to extensive experimentation with a new change-up, Lance McCullers emerged healthy.

Though he had a 7.20 ERA this spring, perhaps partly attributable to extensive experimentation with a new change-up, Lance McCullers emerged healthy.

Photo: Karen Warren, Staff Photographer

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Houston Astros starting pitcher Lance McCullers delivers in the first inning of a spring training baseball game against the New York Mets, Tuesday, March 14, 2017, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Bazemore) less

Houston Astros starting pitcher Lance McCullers delivers in the first inning of a spring training baseball game against the New York Mets, Tuesday, March 14, 2017, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John ... more

Photo: John Bazemore, Associated Press

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April 29: Athletics 7, Astros 4

What happened: The Astros took a 4-2 lead into the eighth inning, but Ken Giles coughed that up. Yonder Alonso then dropped the hammer in the ninth inning with a three-run, walk-off homer.

What happened: The Astros held a 5-4 lead with two outs in the ninth, but David Ortiz tagged Luke Gregerson for an RBI triple to tie the score. Big Papi then finished Houston off in the 11th with an RBI double after Michael Feliz issued a two-out walk and wild pitch.

What happened: A brutal game from Carlos Gomez helped sink the Astros. With the Astros up 9-8 with two outs and a runner on first in the seventh, Gomez called off right fielder George Springer on a fly ball by Ryan Hanigan. Gomez then paused, and the ball dropped between them, allowing the tying run to score. Mookie Betts followed with an RBI triple for the eventual winning run. Gomez also lost a fly ball in the sun during the second inning that led to a run and struck out to end the game.

What happened: In a curious move, manager A.J. Hinch left starter Dallas Keuchel - who had thrown upwards of 100 pitches and was going through the order for the fourth time - to face righthanded hitter Ian Desmond with a runner on first with one out in the eighth inning of a 2-2 game. Desmond promptly broke the tie with a two-run homer that gave the Rangers the lead for good. less

June 7: Rangers 4, Astros 3

What happened: In a curious move, manager A.J. Hinch left starter Dallas Keuchel - who had thrown upwards of 100 pitches and was going through the order for the fourth time - to face ... more

Photo: Rick Yeatts, Getty Images

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July 19: Athletics 4, Astros 3 (10)

What happened: With one out in the ninth, Will Harris gave up consecutive doubles to Stephen Vogt and Coco Crisp to tie the score. Oakland then won it with a two-out rally in the 10th off Pat Neshek and Tony Sipp, with Josh Reddick's infield single scoring the winning run.

What happened: This arguably was the most brutal loss of the year. The Astros were dominated for eight innings by Justin Verlander, but managed to scratch across two runs off him in the ninth to take the lead. But in the bottom of the ninth, then-closer Will Harris issued a two-out walk and gave up consecutive singles that tied the score, with Alex Bregman's error moving the winning run to third. Jose Iglesias then beat Harris to the bag at first for an infield single that handed the Astros a crushing loss.

What happened: These all seemed like the same game, as the Astros dropped the final three games in the series and scored only one run each night. In the four-game set at home, they managed a measly five runs in losing three of four.

What happened: Carlos Gomez's final start as an Astro was disastrous, as he misplayed balls on consecutive at-bats in the fifth inning that led to two runs and the difference in a loss to the lowly Twins. He was designated for assignment two days later, ending an underwhelming one-year stint in Houston.

What happened: While the Astros' pitching was subpar on this day, a brutal missed call by home-plate umpire Jim Joyce loomed large in the final outcome. With Cleveland up 2-1 in the third, Joyce somehow missed a David Paulino pitch bouncing and going off Lonnie Chisenhall's bat for what should've been a foul ball. Instead, he ruled it a wild pitch and two runs came in to score, changing the game's complexion. To add further insult, Joyce tossed Astros manager A.J. Hinch when he justifiably came out to argue the botched call.

What happened: The Rangers lost 15 of 19 games to the Astros, and eight of those defeats were by one run. None was more emblematic of how Houston was snakebit than this game. With one out in the ninth, Ken Giles struck out Rougned Odor, but he reached on a wild pitch. After an Odor steal and another strikeout, Elvis Andrus crushed a Giles fastball to Tal's Hill for a two-out RBI triple that knotted the score. Jurickson Profar then laced Giles' next pitch into left field for the go-ahead run and cap another punch-in-the-gut loss for the Astros to their intrastate rivals.

What happened: After winning five of six on the road to draw within a game of Baltimore for the second wild card, the Astros started a four-game series against an Angels squad they'd beaten 11 of 12 times coming in. Yet the Angels won the first three games of the series, with the Astros' bullpen completely imploding during the eighth and ninth inning in dropping the second and third games. It was the worst-case scenario in a must-win series with the playoffs on the line. less

Sept. 22-24 vs. Angels: 2-0, 10-6, 10-4 losses

What happened: After winning five of six on the road to draw within a game of Baltimore for the second wild card, the Astros started a four-game series against an ... more

Photo: Karen Warren, Houston Chronicle

Astros' Lance McCullers exits game with toe issue

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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. --- Head athletic trainer Jeremiah Randall accompanying manager A.J. Hinch to visit Lance McCullers on the mound is just about the last sight the Astros and their fans wished to see Sunday.

But a sequence that at first glance portended doom quickly revealed itself as the type of odd, seemingly minor issue tailor-made for spring training.

McCullers, the young Astros power righthander beset last year by shoulder and elbow injuries, was pulled just one out shy of completing his four-inning Grapefruit League start against the New York Yankees. The reason: his right foot was bleeding through a hole in his cleat.

Officially, McCullers exited with two outs and the bases loaded in the fourth inning of the Astros' 6-4 loss because of what the team described as "skin irritation on his right foot." The 23-year-old No. 2 starter had no doubts he would pitch on his next turn in the rotation, which should fall on Saturday against the Washington Nationals.

"I'll be fine," he said. "I've got no worries about that."

As McCullers explained after his 57-pitch outing, both him and Yankees starter Adam Warren had settled into the same spot on the mound where dirt meets rubber. The confluence led to a hardening of the patch of dirt where McCullers' foot rolled over during his delivery on every pitch.

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McCullers said he first noticed the makings of a hole in the meshy front area of his cleat around the second inning but that it didn't "fully rip open" until the fourth. Once it did, one of his toes was repeatedly exposed to the hardened dirt, which quickly became problematic. He equated it to someone falling on the sidewalk and scraping their knee, "just on my toe and then just over and over again."

"I wasn't like going to die from a blood loss out there but just like a little bit (of blood) on the mound," McCullers said. "A.J. just said, '(If this were) the regular season, we'd leave you in. But right now we're just going to get you out.' "

McCullers allowed two runs on five hits in the 3 2/3 innings he logged before his exit. Astros pitching coach Brent Strom noticed McCullers' foot complication during a mound visit after the pitcher had issued his second walk of the fourth inning. Strom told Hinch, and after the next batter, Kyle Higashioka, lined a single to left field, the manager took the ball from his starter.

Hinch, who was in the middle of a live television interview on the game broadcast at the time, said he decided to pull McCullers when he noticed the pitcher appearing to favor his right foot. The manager put the ROOT Sports Southwest headset back on after the pitching change to explain the situation to the TV audience.

"I asked him if his hamstring was all right," Hinch said later of his mound visit. "At first I thought it was a lower leg issue but he said, 'No, my foot.' And you look down at his shoe and it was torn and (there was) a little bit of blood on his sock.

"But he's fine. I didn't like walking out there and not knowing what was going on with him. But all should be fine."

Foot oddity aside, both McCullers and Hinch were pleased with McCullers' outing, which was aided by minor leaguer Dayan Diaz's strikeout of Tyler Wade to escape the bases-loaded jam he inherited in the fourth. The walks McCullers issued the same inning were his first two of the spring but he balanced them with five strikeouts, giving him 14 over his 8 2/3 Grapefruit League innings.

With his power curveball needing no refinement, McCullers came into Sunday's start planning to focus on his fastball-changeup combination. He ended up breaking out the curve with runners on base but still came away pleased with his fastball command save for one first-inning heater that resulted in a two-run double by Chase Headley.

"I thought in all in all he did everything he needed to do in this outing to get to the next one," Hinch said.

Except in the next one he will require a fresh pair of cleats.

"If I would've gotten that guy out before that single, this wouldn't even be a topic to discuss," McCullers said. "No one would know about it. I would go about my business. ... I'm going to be fine."